Federal, state and territory ministers must lock in a total ban on engineered stone or risk having blood on their hands, the CFMEU said today.
Work health and safety ministers will meet on Wednesday afternoon to discuss Safe Work Australia’s recommendation to ban engineered stone.
Safe Work Australia found there was no safe way to work with the product, which causes silicosis and other deadly lung diseases when it is cut.
CFMEU National Secretary Zach Smith called on all governments to make the right decision.
“Ministers can only choose one option if they care about the lives of Australian workers,” he said.
“We need a total ban on the import, manufacture and use of engineered stone.
“Any politician that fails to support a ban coming into place on July 1 next year will have blood on their hands.
“The road to this day has been paved with tragic stories of workers sentenced to death for simply doing their job.
“Anything less than a total ban on the asbestos of this generation would be a betrayal of all those families shattered by this killer stone.”
